Vanessa joined the notMYkid team in 2022 as the Family Program Manager for the [i]nspired Peer Program utilizing her specialty of helping parents who are in the trenches of raising teens. Bridging the gap between family members is her specialty and she has had great success in that area working with clients across the country. She has coached hundreds of individuals of all ages to better understand their innate gifts and to connect to themselves and to the people in their lives.
She is the mother of five teenagers (and a toddler). Her work “in the lab” with them, learning and growing, failing, and starting again with all their different personalities, strengths and challenges has resulted in her being deeply compassionate with parents who are going through the same difficult phase of life.
Vanessa is a published author, podcast host, and has been featured in various parenting publications. She has volunteered for the last 25 years all over the Valley of the Sun, from starting her own non-profit with her kids as a homeschooling mom seeking to show her kids the power of altruism to working with every grade level in the classroom for Junior Achievement where she taught students about economics and free enterprise. She served on the Board of YWCA and led the College of Business Council at ASU as the first woman president, winning awards for her leadership and community outreach projects. She was also a high school teacher and taught several business classes as an adjunct professor in the Maricopa County Community College system.
Vanessa studied Supply Chain Management and Secondary Education at Arizona State University and did graduate work in Communications through Northern Arizona University. She lives in Scottsdale with her kids and two cats, Walter White, and Saul Goodman.
Training & Certification:
- Certified Peer Support Specialist
- Trauma Informed Care
- Cultural Sensitivity
- LGBTQ+ Inclusion
- Naloxone Overdose Prevention
- CPR & First Aid
- Fingerprint Clearance Card